APIs · head to head
Astra vs Griffin
Astra
APIs
Instant payments API for push-to-card, card-to-account and FedNow transfers
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
Griffin
APIs
UK banking-as-a-service from a company that holds its own full banking licence
- From
- £100/month
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Astra push-to-card costs materially more per transaction than ACH, so a platform that switches all payouts to instant sees payment costs rise sharply, and the usual answer of charging the recipient for speed only works where recipients will pay.; Griffin platform banking carries a one-off onboarding fee from 15,000 pounds and a 3,500 pound monthly minimum, which prices out early-stage companies entirely.
- They diverge on capability: Astra covers Instant disbursements, Griffin covers Bank accounts by API.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Astra and Griffin actually diverge.
Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (APIs).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Astra
- Instant disbursements
- Card to account
- Net debit mode
- FedNow and RTP transfers
- ACH transfers
- Routing logic
- SDK
- Sandbox
Only in Griffin
- Bank accounts by API
- UK payment rails
- Integrated ledger
- Automated onboarding
- Debit cards
- Interest on balances
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Astra
- A gig or marketplace platform paying workers to their debit cards at the end of a shift rather than on a weekly ACH cyclenot Griffin
- An insurer settling small claims instantly to a claimant debit card to remove the cheque processnot Griffin
- A lending product disbursing approved funds in seconds so the borrower experience matches the approval decisionnot Griffin
- A consumer fintech letting users fund a new account from an existing debit card so the balance is usable immediatelynot Griffin
Griffin
- A wealth platform that must hold client money in a licensed bank rather than an EMI safeguarding accountnot Astra
- A lender wanting UK accounts and payment rails without becoming a bank itselfnot Astra
- A fintech burned by sponsor bank instability that wants the deposit holder and the API provider to be the same entitynot Astra
- A platform needing sub-account ledgering for pooled client funds with a clean audit trailnot Astra
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Astra
- Push-to-card costs materially more per transaction than ACH, so a platform that switches all payouts to instant sees payment costs rise sharply, and the usual answer of charging the recipient for speed only works where recipients will pay.
- Original Credit Transaction support is not universal across card issuers, so a proportion of payouts fall back to slower rails and you must build and explain a two speed experience rather than promising instant to everyone.
- The programme depends on Cross River Bank as sponsor, a bank with concentrated fintech exposure and a documented regulatory history, so a single supervisory action on that institution is a direct operational risk to your payouts.
- Nothing is published on pricing, and per transaction economics vary by rail and volume, so small platforms cannot estimate cost before a sales conversation and have limited leverage in it.
- FedNow reach still depends on the recipient bank participating, so instant account-to-account is not available to every recipient and the routing logic has to degrade gracefully, which is more integration work than the single API framing suggests.
Griffin
- Platform banking carries a one-off onboarding fee from 15,000 pounds and a 3,500 pound monthly minimum, which prices out early-stage companies entirely.
- It is UK-only, so a business with European or US operations needs a second banking provider and a second integration for those entities.
- It is a young bank with a small balance sheet relative to incumbents, and enterprise counterparties still ask hard questions about concentration risk.
- Holding a banking licence means Griffin applies bank-grade due diligence to its own clients, so onboarding is slower and more selective than an EMI-based provider.
- Feature breadth is narrower than long-established providers, particularly in card programme management and in payment types beyond core UK rails.
Pricing, plan by plan
Astra
On request- Astra Payments$undefined/year
- Per transaction pricing quoted by volume and rail
- Push-to-card economics differ materially from ACH
- Net debit mode available in place of prefunding
Griffin
£100/month- Business Banking$100/month
- From 100 pounds per month
- Interest or commission from around 1.75 percent AER variable
- Operational accounts and UK payment rails
- Platform Banking$3500/month
- One-off onboarding fee from 15,000 pounds
- Minimum monthly spend of 3,500 pounds, drawn down by usage
- Higher committed tiers at 5,000 and 10,000 pounds with discounts
- Enterprise$undefined/month
- Custom pricing
- Bespoke account structures and volumes
- Negotiated interest or commission share
Which should you pick?
Choose Astra if
- You need instant disbursements.
- You work on API, Web, iOS, Android.
- You also want card to account.
Choose Griffin if
- You need bank accounts by api.
- You work on Web, REST API.
- You also want uk payment rails.
Questions people ask
- Is Astra or Griffin better?
- Neither clearly leads. Astra starts at On request and Griffin at £100/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Astra or Griffin?
- Astra starts at On request and Griffin at £100/month.
- Does Astra or Griffin run on more platforms?
- Astra runs on API, Web, iOS, Android. Griffin runs on Web, REST API.
- What is Astra best used for?
- Astra is most often used for a gig or marketplace platform paying workers to their debit cards at the end of a shift rather than on a weekly ach cycle, an insurer settling small claims instantly to a claimant debit card to remove the cheque process, a lending product disbursing approved funds in seconds so the borrower experience matches the approval decision, a consumer fintech letting users fund a new account from an existing debit card so the balance is usable immediately. Of those, a gig or marketplace platform paying workers to their debit cards at the end of a shift rather than on a weekly ach cycle and an insurer settling small claims instantly to a claimant debit card to remove the cheque process are not what Griffin is typically brought in for.
- What can Astra do that Griffin cannot?
- Astra covers Instant disbursements, Card to account, Net debit mode, FedNow and RTP transfers. Griffin covers Bank accounts by API, UK payment rails, Integrated ledger, Automated onboarding.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Astra: Who is the sponsor bank?
Cross River Bank. All banking and payment services run through that relationship, so the bank should be part of your diligence rather than an implementation detail.
Griffin: Is Griffin actually a bank?
Yes. It received a UK banking licence with restrictions in March 2023 and a full licence in March 2024 after exiting mobilisation.
Astra: Do I have to prefund payouts?
Not necessarily. Astra offers a net debit arrangement where disbursements settle against a reserve rather than a permanently funded float account, which is the main working capital argument for the product.
Griffin: What does it cost?
Business banking from 100 pounds a month; platform banking from a 15,000 pound onboarding fee plus a 3,500 pound monthly minimum drawn down by usage.
Astra: Is every payout instant?
No. Push-to-card requires the recipient card issuer to support Original Credit Transactions, and FedNow requires the recipient bank to participate. The rest fall back to ACH.
Griffin: Does it cover Europe?
No. Griffin is a UK bank serving UK accounts and UK payment rails.
Astra: What does it cost?
Nothing is published. Pricing is per transaction and varies by rail and volume, and card rails cost considerably more than ACH.
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